From the Desk of Jon Keeling...

A little about myself...
I began training in Shotokan in 1982 and found I really enjoyed it.  I was at the dojo for an hour or two each day, 6 days/week, often self-training at home in addition, until I passed my shodan under Mori Sensei (New York, head of Shotokan Karate-do International, affiliated with the Japan Karate Association) in the summer of 1985.  In September of that year, I left for Japan, where I intended to stay for about 6 months while I contemplated what I might want to do with the rest of my life.  I lived at the Hoitsugan dojo, where Nakayama Sensei was teaching until his passing in April, 1987.  I trained there and at the JKA Honbu dojo nearby.  That six months seemed like it would be cut short as my funds ran short due to even higher prices in Tokyo than I had anticipated.  I started working part-time (teaching English as a Second Language) and six months turned into a year, then a second, then a third.  I returned to the US in 1988, where I graduated less than 3 1/2 years later with a BA in Economics and a minor in East Asian Studies, having attended a total of three colleges/universities along the way, finishing the last two years at the University of California, Santa Cruz.   During that time, I taught at several dojo, including those at UCSC and Cabrillo College (which I co-founded with Sensei Jeremy Peck), having also helped out with classes at SUNY Stony Brook while I was at school there.   After graduation, I returned to Tokyo for work.  This time, I could not train as often as I had previously, due to a hectic work schedule. I eventually got enough training in to pass my yondan exam in 1997, less than a week before my return to the US.   I have returned for short training trips several times since then and in 1998 passed my "D" level instructor, examiner and judge exams there.  Today I try to visit Tokyo about once a year.

How is training at JKA of Silicon Valley different from other dojo?
I may not be the only one teaching the way I do.  But I believe I am certainly in the minority.  One student from another dojo, after visiting our dojo for several days, told me that I had spoiled him for training anywhere else.  He said that he had never known that there could be anything but "MRT" (Mindless-Repetition-Training), the way karate is taught in most Shotokan dojos.  In my dojo, we think about what we are doing while we are doing it.  Thinking isn't all we do, but thinking can accelerate the learning process.  I try to focus on one or two main points during a class, but will often change the focus entirely for the next day's class.  Some days, we will only do one or two techniques for 90-minutes.   The focus of the evening classes is usually some fundamental point, practiced repetitively in some type of basic technique/movement, while we think about why and how we are doing it or should be doing it.  For the Saturday morning classes, we do a single kata for the first hour and some type of kumite for the second hour.  We go through four-week cycles for each kata.  The first week is an introduction.  The second week, we go into more detail on technique.  The third week, we explore applications.   On the fourth week, we review and/or look into variations of the kata. 

We are also careful to train safely.  I demand a high level of technical skill.   But I also demand a high level of effort and attitude.  I do not expect students to make it to class all the time, as many people are busy with family, work, etc.   But when they are in the dojo, I expect them to try as hard to learn as I try to teach. 

More about JKA of Silicon Valley

About tournament competition...
There are a couple of reasons you haven't seen my name on major tournament champion lists.  One is that during my competitive years, I was mostly in Japan.  Japan has the highest level of competition in the world, and Tokyo has by far the most good competition of any city.  Qualifying for major tournaments in Tokyo is not easy.  To get a spot representing Tokyo in the All-Japans, you must first place in the top 8 in the All-Tokyo competition. I have done this several times.  I represented Tokyo in kumite once and kata twice and actually qualified for both kata and kumite in my last year there (1997), just before moving back to the US, but forfeited my spot because I didn't want to wait around for an extra two months just for the tournament.  Even if you can make it to the All-Japans, though, that certainly doesn't mean you have it home-free.  

The other reason is that I simply do not put a lot of emphasis on tournament competition, at least not compared to regular training.  I do not focus on competition and never really have.  I don't think competition is a terrible thing.   But it certainly shouldn't be the major reason for training.  That being said, I have participated in my share of tournaments, both as competitor and judge.   Most notable medal-winning achievements as a competitor have probably been one of each third, second and first place in team kata in the All-Tokyo JKA tournament and several first place wins in kata in US regional level tournaments. 

How much training do you get in these days?
Unfortunately, I cannot train as much as I would like.  This is primarily due to lack of time.  What time I do have for karate, I concentrate on teaching and furthering my knowledge and research in an effort to help others succeed past the point that I have reached in my training.  When classes at my dojo are sometimes comprised of only more advanced members, I sometimes get a good amount of training in.  But often my time is spent helping students, which may cause my own training to suffer a bit. 

I have also recently developed arthritis in many of my joints, primarily my hips.  I can no longer train the way I did ten years ago without paying a price in the following days. Down the road, I'm told, this may speed my way towards a hip replacement.

And in my spare time...
I am involved in many, many karate related projects.

When I'm not doing any of that, I help take care of our young son and daughter, deal with home repairs and tending the yard...as if I didn't have enough to do...

Sleep?  Six hours a night is a luxury these days that I rarely achieve even on weekends.  All the stress and the lack of sleep most likely are playing a part in my body's deterioration.  I have periodic-limb-movement-disorer ("restless leg syndrome" - my limbs shake a lot while I sleep), an occasional twitch in one eye, tendonitis in my wrist (downgraded from a painful bout of carpal tunnel) and almost constant headaches, among other things...Did I mention that I had to stop the treadmill exercise at the Cardiologist's (visit prompted by sharp pain in the left chest) because my hips were hurting too much from the arthritis? Many people look at me and think I am in my early 20's. But believe me I sometimes feel as though I am much older than my age (late 30's). I always feel as if I am not getting nearly enough accomplished.  So I doubt these problems will resolve themselves anytime soon.  

Maybe after I get a few more seminars organized and a book or two published...and have published a few more issues of ShotoMag...and...